Former governor, landfill owner 'conspired to traffic waste'

(ANSA) - Rome, April 1 - Magistrates said Tuesday they will
fast-track a trial of seven suspects, including a former
official from the Lazio region, charged in an alleged
waste-disposal scandal around Rome.

The owner of the Malagrotta landfill outside the Eternal
City, Manlio Cerroni, and the former governor of the Lazio
region, Bruno Landi, are among those to face trial June 5 for
alleged conspiracy to traffic waste.

Several other local businessmen and regional officials were
arrested in the investigation and about 18 million euros in
assets seized as part of the probe.

Serious problems in the handling of waste in the Lazio
region led the European Union to announce last year that it was
taking Italy before the European Court of Justice for failing to
resolve the trash situation.

The correct rubbish treatment procedures were not
implemented in landfills including Malagrotta and elsewhere in
Lazio, according to the EU.

In 2012, rubbish started piling up in Rome's streets in a
crisis reminiscent of the problems Naples has had in recent
years due to lack of landfill areas around the southern city.